We, the faculty of the College of Liberal Arts at California State University, Long Beach, adopt this Constitution in order to establish and define an organizational structure to promote, through orderly and equitable internal governance, an environment for faculty and students which is conducive to the achievement of academic excellence and academic freedom. The faculty and students of the College of Liberal Arts constitute a community of teachers and scholars within the University whose interest is best served through the continuous exercise of the maximum degree of self-governance consonant with the legitimate authority granted to the Trustees of the California State University and their designees. Further, we declare our desire to consult with academic administrators and other academic units within the University on matters pertaining to the College and the welfare of the University.
1. The name of this body shall be "The Faculty of the College of Liberal Arts," hereafter referred to as "the Faculty."
2. Membership in the body shall consist of the full-time faculty of the College, the Dean and Associate Dean(s), and such others as the members shall, by majority vote, admit to membership. Participants in the Early Retirement Program or the Preretirement Program shall be considered members of this body.
3. Membership in this body shall not lapse because of leave of absence.
A. POWERS OF THE FACULTY
1. Subject to the laws of the State of California, the regulations of the Board of Trustees of the California State University, the policies and regulations of California State University, Long Beach, and the Memorandum of Understanding for Unit 3-Faculty ("the MOU"), the Faculty shall be the policy-formulating body of the College.
2. The Faculty shall have the right to be formally consulted by the Dean on all matters pertaining to the operation of the College and its programs.
3. The Faculty shall periodically evaluate the performance of the administrative officers of the College as set forth in the provisions of Academic Senate documents.
4. The Faculty may present to the University Academic Senate, and to appropriate administrative officers of the University, matters pertaining to the welfare of the College or the University.
5. The Faculty shall have the power, subject to the limitations of ARTICLE II, Section A.1, to propose and adopt new regulations or policies or to amend existing policies or regulations.
6. The Faculty shall define and limit the powers and duties of its committees.
7. The Faculty shall take no action that abridges the autonomy of any academic area of the College, except as the general welfare of the College is involved.
B. SOURCES OF COLLEGE AUTHORITY
1. Consistent with the laws of the State of California, Trustee policy, and the MOU, authority for actions within the College shall derive from this document and the Policies and Procedures documents adopted by the Faculty.
2. If any portion of an academic area constitution is in conflict with this Constitution of the Faculty of the College, the latter shall prevail.
3. Questions of interpretation of this Constitution shall be resolved by the Faculty Council.
1. The Faculty shall exercise its governance powers and formulate its policies by means of the organization described in this Article.
2. The Faculty of the College shall meet in general session at least once each academic year. It may meet additionally as called by the Dean or the Faculty Council or upon a petition of ten percent of the Faculty submitted to the Dean.
2.1 The Dean of the College shall be the Chair of the Faculty and shall act as presiding officer at meetings of the Faculty.
2.2 Twenty-five percent of the full-time faculty shall constitute a quorum for general meetings of the Faculty.
3. There shall be a Faculty Council and Standing Committees as described in Sections A and B below.
4. The Dean is the Chief Administrative Officer of the College. Provisions concerning the relationship between Faculty and the Office of the Dean are given in Section C below.
5. Primary responsibility for the organization, implementation, and oversight of the College's courses of instruction in conformity with educational policies of the University and the College shall rest with the several academic areas of the College. Provisions for recognizing the academic areas of the College and other matters concerning them are specified in Section D below.
A. THE FACULTY COUNCIL
1. The Faculty shall establish an elected body to be known as the Faculty Council of the College to exercise the powers which vest in the Faculty. The Council's Chair shall serve as presiding officer at all College meetings in the absence of the Dean. The Council's Secretary shall act as Secretary of the Faculty. The Council shall meet at least once each month of the academic year.
2. Membership. The Council shall be an elected representative body of the College.
2.1 Each academic area shall be entitled to one Faculty Council representative for every 10 full-time faculty members or fraction thereof serving in the area at the beginning of the academic year.
2.2 Faculty representatives from an academic area shall be elected from the full-time faculty of the area by a majority of votes cast in a secret ballot by the full-time members of the area. Faculty with joint appointments shall be counted and vote in only one academic area. Academic areas shall elect alternates in the same manner to serve in the absence of the elected representative.
2.3 Two additional representatives shall be part-time faculty elected at large from among the faculty holding part-time appointment in any of the academic areas of the College.
2.4 The Dean of the College shall be an ex officio, voting member of the Council.
2.5 In the event of a vacancy, a new member shall be elected by the academic area to fill the unexpired term within a month, excluding holidays, of the vacancy.
3. Terms of Office
3.1 Elected full-time faculty members of the Council shall serve staggered two-year terms and may be re-elected.
3.2 Elected part-time faculty members of the Council shall serve for a one-year term and may be re-elected.
4. Officers of the Council
4.1 The Faculty Council shall elect each year a Chair, a Vice-Chair, and a Secretary.
4.2 The Council may establish other officers and committees as it finds necessary. Such officers and committees are dependent on the Council for their charge and their authority.
5. Duties and Functions
5.1 The Faculty Council, as the representative body of the Faculty of the College of Liberal Arts, shall exercise the powers of the Faculty on behalf of the College. The Council shall be responsible to the Faculty at all times.
5.2 The Faculty Council may review the actions of the Dean and the Standing Committees of the College. Except where other procedures are mandated in State and University regulations, in the MOU, or in other sections of this Constitution, it may hear appeals to the actions of those agencies, and may mediate, arbitrate, or adjudicate disputes.
5.3 The Faculty Council shall adjudicate all disputes concerning interpretation of this Constitution or of Policies and Procedures provisions falling under it.
B. STANDING COMMITTEES
1. There shall be the following Standing Committees:
Executive Committee of the Faculty Council
Educational Policies and Curriculum
Budget
Retention, Tenure, and Promotion
Sabbatical Leave
Grade Appeals
These Committees shall be established and have duties as prescribed in
the sub-sections which follow.
2. Actions of all Standing Committees (other than specific Retention, Tenure, and Promotion actions, individual Sabbatical Leave recommendations, and individual Grade Appeal recommendations) may be reviewed by the Faculty Council.
3. Specific charges, policies, and procedures for each committee are detailed in the Policies and Procedures documents of the College and in other pertinent documents of the University. It shall be part of the general charge to every Standing Committee to review those details periodically, and to recommend improvements to the Faculty Council. The Faculty Council may amend or supplement the details in the Policies and Procedures documents in light of such recommendations and other information and considerations, including conformance with broader University policies and requirements.
4. All Standing Committees except the Retention, Tenure, and Promotion Committee, the Sabbatical Leave Committee, and the Grade Appeals Committee shall regularly forward copies of their agendas and minutes to the Chair of the Faculty Council and to all academic areas.
5. All Standing Committees shall provide the Faculty Council with a report of their activities at the end of each academic year and such interim reports as are requested by the Council. Annual reports may contain recommendations to the Council concerning matters under the jurisdiction of the committee.
6. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE FACULTY COUNCIL
6.1 Membership
a. The Executive Committee shall consist of at least the following members: the Chair, the Vice-Chair, and the Secretary of the Faculty Council, and two At-Large members of the Council elected by that body. The Council may augment this membership with other officers as it finds necessary.
b. There shall be no more than one faculty member from any one academic area.
6.2 Duties and Functions
a. The Executive Committee shall organize the work of the Council and perform such other functions as may be assigned to it by the Council.
b. The Executive Committee, in consultation with the Dean and other appropriate officers of the College and University, shall act for the Faculty Council in emergencies and when the Council cannot be brought into session. All such actions are reviewable by the Council as soon as circumstances permit.
7. EDUCATIONAL POLICIES AND CURRICULUM COMMITTEE
7.1. Membership
a. The Educational Policies and Curriculum Committee shall have nine full-time faculty members elected by the full-time faculty of the College.
b. There shall be no more than one elected faculty member from any one academic area.
c. Faculty members shall serve staggered two-year terms and may be reelected, but shall not serve more than four consecutive years.
d. There may be one student member from the College selected by the Student Council.
e. The Dean or Dean's designee shall be an ex officio, non-voting member of the Committee.
7.2 Duties and Functions
a. The Educational Policies and Curriculum Committee shall maintain overview of the educational policies of the College in the framework of the mission of the College and shall make recommendations for action to the Faculty Council and Dean.
b. The Committee shall act for the College Faculty, in accordance with Policies and Procedures set by the Faculty Council and the University Academic Senate, in all matters involving curriculum and educational programs.
c. A quorum for Committee action shall consist of five faculty members. The Committee shall function as a committee of the whole in all deliberations involving curriculum or general education.
d. An academic area may appeal a recommendation of this Committee to the Faculty Council.
8. BUDGET COMMITTEE
8.1 Membership
a. The Committee shall have nine full-time faculty members appointed by the Faculty Council from faculty nominated by the Dean.
b. There shall be no more than one faculty member from any one academic area.
c. The nine faculty members appointed by the Faculty Council shall serve staggered three-year terms, and no faculty member shall serve more than six consecutive years.
d. There may be one student member from the College selected by the Student Council.
e. The Dean or Dean's designee shall be an ex officio, non-voting member of the Committee.
8.2 Duties and Functions
a. The Budget Committee, in accordance with instructions that it may receive from the Faculty Council, shall maintain overview of the fiscal condition of the College and its constituent programs. The Committee shall work with the Dean and the several academic areas in setting and pursuing the budgetary measures appropriate for implementing the educational polices and mission of the College.
b. Five faculty members shall constitute a quorum.
c. All actions of the Budget Committee may be reviewed by the Faculty Council.
9. RETENTION, TENURE, AND PROMOTION COMMITTEE
9.1 Membership
a. The Retention, Tenure, and Promotion Committee shall consist of seven tenured faculty members of the College, all holding full-time appointment at the rank of Professor and elected by the full-time tenured and probationary faculty of the College.
b. Members shall serve staggered two-year terms and shall not be re-elected for consecutive terms.
c. There shall be no more than one faculty member from any one academic area.
d. Committee members may not serve on any other standing or ad hoc Retention, Tenure, and Promotion Committee of the University.
e. Department Chairs and Program Directors may not serve on this Committee.
f. Faculty members participating in retirement programs may not serve on this Committee.
9.2 Duties and Functions
a. The Retention, Tenure, and Promotion Committee, in accordance with provisions of the MOU and the pertinent Retention, Tenure, and Promotion policies and procedures of the University and College, shall review all candidates for retention, tenure, or promotion and shall make appropriate recommendations to the Dean of the College and to the President of the University.
b. The Committee shall maintain overview of the Retention, Tenure, and Promotion policies that affect the Faculty of the College in its professional mission and shall make recommendations to the Faculty Council and the Dean concerning changes in those policies.
10. SABBATICAL LEAVE COMMITTEE
10.1 Membership
a. The Sabbatical Leave Committee shall consist of seven tenured faculty members elected by the tenured and probationary faculty of the College.
b. Members shall serve staggered two-year terms and may not serve consecutive terms.
c. There shall be no more than one member from any one academic area.
d. A faculty member applying for sabbatical leave shall not serve on this committee.
10.2 Duties and Functions
a. The Sabbatical Leave Committee, in accordance with the provisions of the MOU and the pertinent policies and procedures of the University and College, shall review all Sabbatical Leave proposals and shall make appropriate recommendations to the Dean of the College.
b. The Committee shall maintain overview of the policies affecting Sabbatical leaves and shall make recommendations to the Faculty Council and the Dean concerning necessary or desirable changes in those policies.
11. GRADE APPEALS COMMITTEE
11.1 Membership
a. The Grade Appeals Committee shall have four tenured faculty members and one alternate elected by the Faculty Council.
b. There shall be no more than one faculty member from any one academic area.
c. Faculty members of the Committee shall serve staggered two-year terms and shall serve no more than two consecutive terms.
d. Department Chairs and Program Directors may not serve on this Committee.
e. There shall be one student member of the Committee and one student alternate.
f. Student members of the Committee shall be selected in a manner determined by the Student Council and shall serve one-year terms.
g. No individual may serve on this Committee and also on another Grade Appeals Committee in the University.
11.2 Duties and Functions
The Grade Appeals Committee shall function as prescribed in the University Policy Statement on Grade Appeals and in accordance with any further policies that the Faculty Council may enact.
C. OFFICE OF THE DEAN
1. The Dean of the College is appointed by the President after consultation with the Faculty of the College in accordance with the policies and procedures for such appointment established by the University through the Academic Senate. The provisions of this Constitution and the specific duties and responsibilities of the Dean defined in the Policies and Procedures documents of the College shall be considered by the Search Committee in its development (with the appropriate University administrator) of the Position Description under which a Dean is appointed and also in its review of candidates.
2. The Dean is the chief administrative officer of the College. The Dean's authority is that which is delegated by the President of the University, that which accrues to the Dean from University policies, and that which is provided by the Faculty of the College through its appropriate representative bodies.
3. The Dean shall be accountable to the Faculty of the College for the efficient administration of University and College policies and for coordination of the work of the academic area Chairs and Directors in the administration of these policies within their areas.
4. The Dean shall develop and maintain an academic and administrative environment conducive to the achievement of the highest standards of student scholarship, to the enhancement of instructional excellence in the faculty, and to the continuing professional growth of the faculty.
5. The Dean may establish special or ad hoc committees on matters relating to the general welfare of the College. Recommendations or findings of such bodies shall be advisory only.
6. The Dean may delegate authority to one or more Associate or Assistant Deans.
6.1 A person shall become Associate or Assistant Dean of the College only after selection in accordance with the policies and procedures established by the University through the Academic Senate. The Dean and the relevant Search Committee shall determine jointly the specific duties and functions of an Associate or Assistant Dean in their preparation of a Position Description under which an Associate or Assistant Dean is appointed.
6.2 On the occasion of Periodic Administrative Review of an Associate or Assistant Dean, the Dean, the Associate or Assistant Dean being reviewed, and the Faculty Council shall review jointly the functions and duties of the office as specified in the operative position descriptions. If appropriate, a new position description may be formulated.
D. ACADEMIC AREAS
1. The Academic Areas of the College shall be the Departments and Programs extant in the College of Liberal Arts at the time that this Constitution is ratified.
2. In addition to provisions of the University governing the creation and dissolution of Departments and Programs, an organization of faculty and curriculum shall become an Academic Area of the College only upon approval of both the Faculty Council and the Dean. An organization of faculty and curriculum shall lose recognition as an Academic Area of the College only upon approval of both the Faculty Council and the Dean.
3. All Academic Areas of the College shall have direct access to the Dean. They may forward requests to the Dean, initiate hiring requests and job descriptions of all their personnel, and review with the Dean all matters relating to their interests. They may appeal the Dean's decisions to the Faculty Council, to any appropriate College Committee, or to faculty bodies or administrative officers at the University level.
4. The faculty of any Academic Area may appeal any internal matter to the Dean and/or the Faculty Council that cannot first be resolved by the Chair or Director of the Area and a committee of the Area faculty. 5. When not otherwise specified in University or College documents, the faculty of an Academic Area may determine the proportionality of student representation on that Area's committees and councils.
1. Election procedures. In all cases where this Constitution speaks of "election" the following are required:
1.1 There shall be ample opportunity for nominations to be made by any member of the relevant voting constituency. The Faculty Council shall specify appropriate periods for receipt of nominations for vacant offices.
1.2 (a) Elections shall be by secret ballot. (b) Voters shall be instructed to vote for no more nominees than there are actual positions to be filled.
1.3 On a first ballot, a simple majority of votes cast shall constitute election. However, in cases where membership to a body from a particular constituency is restricted and more people from a constituency than are permitted to serve receive majority votes, only those with the greater number of votes shall be elected.
1.4 If a first ballot fails to complete the election, a second ballot shall be held. Election on a second ballot shall not require a majority of votes cast but only the greater number of votes.
1.5 In case a second ballot leaves an election incomplete because of ties, election shall be by lot.
2. Alternates and Vacancies: In electing members to committees and councils, the College may also elect Alternates ("Stand-by Alternates) to step into service should a vacancy occur due to resignation, leave of absence, or other cause.
2.1 The number of Stand-by Alternates elected for each committee shall be determined by the Faculty Council.
2.2 Alternates to any committee shall be subject to the same membership requirements as regular members.
2.3 Alternatives shall be elected as part of the normal balloting process, except in an election specifically to elect Alternates to a body. Alternates (in the number determined for each body by that body's membership charge or by the Faculty Council) shall be the nominees with the highest number of votes among those not elected to regular membership. In case of ties, election and order among Alternates (1ST Alternate, 2nd Alternate, etc.) shall be by lot.
2.4 Unless otherwise specified in the documents establishing the committee structure and charge, the term of office of an Alternate in Stand-by status shall be one academic year.
a. Should an Alternate step into service to replace someone who leaves a committee, the Alternate shall nornally assume as term of office the remainder of the term of the person being replaced. b. A member of a committee taking sabbatical leave or difference-in-pay for a semester may request that the Alternate serve only for that semester of leave so that the person on leave may resume committee service upon return to duty.
2.5 If a vacancy occurs in the Faculty Council or in a Committee for which there is no Alternate to step into service, a replacement shall be selected to complete the unexpired term. The selection shall be made as soon as practicable, and shall be in accordance with the provisions governing the particular Council or Committee. However, if those provisions call for an election and the Faculty Council determines there is not sufficient time in a semester to hold a special election to fill the vacancy, it may appoint a replacement to serve the remainder of the academic year.
1. Proposals to amend this Constitution are initiated by petition of at least 20 percent of the Faculty or by a majority of the Faculty Council. Proposals thus initiated shall then be forwarded to the Dean.
2. A proposed amendment submitted to the Dean shall be distributed to the faculty within ten working days of its receipt by the Dean. A general Faculty meeting shall be held to discuss the proposed amendment seven to ten working days after its distribution. Proposed amendments may not be considered from the end of the Spring semester to the beginning of the subsequent Fall semester.
3. Following the general Faculty meeting, proponents and opponents may, within ten working days, submit to the Office of the Dean a written "Argument In Favor Of" or "Argument Against" any proposed amendment, to be distributed to the faculty along with the ballot, provided that these "For" or "Against" arguments are signed by five or more faculty members. Arguments must not exceed 1,000 words in length. The Office of the Dean shall prepare and distribute to the faculty a ballot containing the proposed amendment, along with any arguments For or Against.
4. An amendment to the Constitution shall become effective when it has been ratified by a majority of the valid ballots cast by the full-time faculty of the College in a secret mail ballot.
1. This Constitution shall become effective upon ratification by a majority of valid ballots cast by the full-time faculty of the College in a secret mail ballot.
2. As soon as possible after ratification, the Faculty Council shall be elected as provided in this Constitution and shall immediately become the authorized Faculty Council of the College. Terms of service shall be counted as beginning in the semester subsequent to that in which the Council is elected. Half the membership shall be selected by lot to serve a one-year term so that the "staggered terms" provision of this Constitution may be effected.
3. All Standing Committees shall then be selected as provided in this Constitution for terms to begin in the semester following ratification of this Constitution. Wherever "staggered terms" are called for, this shall be effected by lot.
4. Evaluation Committee
4.1 At the beginning of the fifth semester after ratification, the Chair of the Faculty Council shall appoint, with the concurrence of the Council, an Evaluation Committee of at least six faculty members to meet and to evaluate the provisions of this document. The Evaluation Committee shall work in consultation with the College's Faculty Council, its Standing Committees, and all faculty. This Evaluation Committee shall submit to the Council within a year a written report, which may include recommendations for Amendments to this Constitution.
4.2 The College Council shall, at a regular meeting and as an item on its written agenda, consider the report, findings, recommendations of the Evaluation Committee and take such implementing action as it deems appropriate and necessary.
